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No Model.) 2 sheets-sheen 2.

L. D. HILL. MLL FOR ROLLING FAN TAIL AXLES.

IWL/156,570. Patented Ju1'y28, 1891.

U N5 u /I Q i) l l 1r i WLTNESgES INVEJvmR @(0%0 J7' M, f a-wM/M 4.flttornveydz llNiTnn STATES PATENT4 OFFICE.

LEROY D. HILL, OF WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE SHELDONAXLE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MILL FOR ROLLING FAN-TAIL AXLES.

PEGIFICATON forming part of Letters Patent NO. 456,570, dated July 28,1891. Application nea May 18', 1891. senti No. 999,099. No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known thatI, LEROY D. HILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Vilkes- Barr, in the county of Luzerne and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Millsfor Rolling Fan-Tail Axles, of which the following' is a specification.

That are known as fan-tail axles-that is, axles that gradually expand inwidth and generally decrease in thickness toward the center-haveheretofore been made by hand of two pieces forged so as to spread thesame toward one end, the widened ends being then welded together. Thisprocess requires the employment of skilled labor, and is objectionablefrom the liability of the metal to become burned and weakened and fromimperfections in the welds, and to avoid these objections I manufacturethe axle-blanks by the process and apparatus fully set forthhereinafter, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a perspective View of a fan-tailaXle blank. Figs. 2 and aresectional views ofthe rolls for producing the blank on the line 2 2 3 3,Fig. Ll. Fig. et is an elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow,Fig. 2; Fig. 5, an elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow,Fig. 3.

The general form of the blank is illustrated in Fig. l, the samebeingmade from bar iron or steel, which may be square, circular, or polygonalin cross-section, and which, whatever its cross-sectional form, isdistended toward the center to increase the width along the line .c, andwhich also is generally contracted in thicknesstoward the center toreduce the thickness along the line y.

In order to effect the reduction of a bar of suitable cross-sectionalform to the shape illustrated in Eig. l without welding and with greaterrapidity than is possible by hand-I forging, I make use of rolls A B,provided with passes of such shapes as will reduce the bar by a seriesof operations. While the reduction would be facilitated to some extentby providing the rolls with dat or horizontal passes, it would not bepossible in this way to finish up the sides of the bar and produce sharpcorners, which is necessary in order to manufacture merchantable blanks.Itherefore provide the rolls with passes set atan angle, so that thevertical pressure and draw tend to force the metal into the corners ofthe grooves and impart a fine finish to the sides and edge faces.Further, in order to still better finish the faces, I may provide therolls with edge passes. Thus the rolls are mounted to turn in thedirection of the arrows in suitable housings and provided with grooves,or preferably carrying detachable dies O C', in the curve-faces of whichare grooves a l1, which together constitute a series of passes l 2 3 4.5 of any suitable number.

Referring first to the pass l, each groove, as (tor b, at the forwardface G of the die conforms in shape to one-half of a section of a bar ofmerchant iron or steel that is t0 be rolled. As shown, each groove istriangular in cross-section, conforming to one-half of the bar when thelatter is on edge, and one face 7 of each groove gradually widens towardthe face 8 of the die, while the adjoining' face 9 of the groove atright angles to the face 7 gradually contracts toward the face 8 of thedie, so that said pass in its longitudinal dimensions becomes graduallywider in one direction and iiatter in the other direction from the face(5 toward the face S. As a result of this construction, if the end of asquare merchant bar 0c is inserted between the dies from the right-handside, Fig. l, when the faces b (i are on the same vertical plane`one-half of the bar by the time the faces S 8 are on the same vert-icalplane will be spread and narrowed toward the center, as illustrated inFig. 2, and after the dies C O separate by the further revolution of therolls in the direction of their arrows the bar may be drawn back andagain introduced into the saine pass l, after reversing the bar tofurther finish the same; or it maybe transferred to the next pass 2,which has the same general outline as the pass l, but spreads a littlefarther in one direction and is more contracted in the other direction,so as to Vfurther spread and reduce the thickness of the bar forone-half its length, while the pass t still further spreads the bar andreduces the thickness to ward the center. As the passes are all arrangedangularly to the horizontal line, so that the grooves in the dies areV-sl1aped, a better finish is secured than would be possible withbozcgrooves. The passes 3 5 are intended to operate upon the edges t t,and are therefore box-passes operating upon the bar on edge andimparting a bet-ter finish to the said faces t t and to the corners.After one-half of the bar has thus been operated upon to draw it down inshape from one end toward the center the opposite end oi' said bar issubjected to the same series of operations, thereby drawing it down fromone end toward the center until a finished blank is obtained.

It will be seen that the operations upon the bar are eiected by holdingthe same at one side of the mill, a result Which can be obtained becauseof the projection of the dies C C above the faces of the rollers, whichcauses the dies to separate after they pass the plane it', permittingthe bar to be drawn back and inserted in the proper pass, as upon thefurther revolution the faces 6 6 .of the dies approach the plane w. Bythus operating upon the bar to roll or draw itfrom each end toward thecenter I secure the desired shape without Welding, and Without theemployment of the high class of labor required for hand forging, Iaccomplish the result more rapidly and with less detriment to themetal.y

The Whole blank may be rolled ati one heat by reversing the bar orblank.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement ofparts shown and described, I claim# l. TheWithin-describedimprovementinthe art of making fan-tailed-aXle blanks, the same consisting in drawinga bar of metal fromeach end toward the center by separate operations, toincrease the Width from each end to the center, substantially as setforth.

2. In the manufacture of fan tailaxle blanks, subjecting the bar to aseries of operations to draw down the same from one end toward thecenter to Widen the same toward the center, and then subjecting theopposite end to a like series of operations, substantially as described.

3. A mill for drawing fan-tail-axle blanks, provided With axle-dieshaving grooves arranged to form passes each at an angle to thehorizontal line and expanding from one end toward the other,substantially as set forth.

et. A rolling-mill provided with grooves arranged to form passes, eachgroove having two sides at right angles to each other, one sideincreasing in Width and the other decreasing in width, substantially asset forth.

5. A mill for rolling fantailaxle blanks, provided With dies withgrooves arranged to forni a series of passes each Widening in onedirection and narrowing in the other, each pass increasing in Width anddecreasing in height in comparison With the preceding pass,substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, in a rolling-mill, `of a series of passesconstructed to impart a fantail form to a bar, and additional box-passesarranged to operate upon the edges of the bar, substantially as setforth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this Specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEROY D. HILL.

Vitnesses:

N. I). H. HUGUs, C. H. GILLAM.

